25 Companies You Might Not Know Are Owned by Disney

It's hard to imagine that there's a person in America who hasn't heard of Disneyland, Disney World, or Disney movies. Mickey Mouse is probably more instantly recognizable around the world than any real-life movie star or celebrity athlete. From Dumbo and Cinderella to Pinocchio and Bambi, Disney introduced the world to some of the most enduring and beloved characters in the history of American pop culture. Disney has influenced the way the rest of the world views American society since the company was founded in 1923. Its parks and resorts redefined the concept of leisure, its movies are generational hand-me-downs, and its merchandise has brightened bedrooms, offices, and bodies for nearly a century—and it's big business.

Disney is an international maze of parent companies and subsidiaries that leave few corners of the globe untouched. Its vast holdings are a maze of media networks, film studios, production companies, merchandising ventures, parks, resorts, distribution operations, finance firms, gaming corporations, publishing companies, construction firms, vacation and cruise lines, music studios, and digital content providers. Forbes ranks Disney—which employs more than 200,000 people—among the top 10 most powerful brands in the world and values the company at more than $238 billion.

The company's reach spreads farther than many people might think—in movies and television alone. It's common knowledge that Disney is behind classics like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King," but many don't know that Disney owns the "Die Hard" and "Alien" franchises, "Family Guy," "M*A*S*H," "American Idol," "Star Wars," "The Muppets," and "The Simpsons." The Disney Channel, Walt Disney Studios, and Disney Parks are famous and obvious centerpieces of the House of Mouse, but there's also a seemingly endless web of companies, properties, holdings, and franchises that don't bear the Disney name yet serve as revenue streams for the corporate empire just the same.